Hallmark Names New Chief Information Officer, Anno

Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 06, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Peter Opalka has joined Hallmark as senior vice president, information technology, serving as the company’s chief information officer. Opalka brings more than 21 years of experience in information technology leadership roles. “Peter will provide vision and leadership for developing technology solutions that will help advance our retail, operational and business strategies,” said Dave Hall, president of Hallmark Cards, Inc. “His experience driving key cost initiatives on a global scale while delivering on business, consumer data and supply-chain initiatives will serve Hallmark well as we continue to grow our businesses.” "I am excited to join such an iconic brand and bring my broad technology experience to Hallmark, a name and company that resonates so well with consumers,” said Opalka. “Technology is at the core of enabling growth, simplification and bringing new consumer experiences to life. I look forward to leading Hallmark’s information technology team, as we play our important part in helping the company create a more emotionally connected world.” In this role, Opalka will be responsible for implementing a strategy to elevate Hallmark’s focus on providing a quality experience for our consumers, retail customers and internal business partners. Opalka previously served as vice president–global infrastructure and IT service delivery with Unilever, and prior to that as vice president-business application services. Prior to Unilever, he served seven years in progressive IT management and leadership roles with Marriott International, Inc. and has also held several customer advisory board positions with IBM, CISCO and HPE.

About Hallmark

For more than 100 years, family-owned Hallmark Cards, Inc. has been dedicated to creating a more emotionally connected world. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri and employing more than 28,000 worldwide, the approximately $4 billion company operates a diversified portfolio of businesses. Its global Hallmark Greetings business sells greeting cards and gift wrap in more than 30 languages with distribution in more than 100 countries and 100,000 rooftops. Hallmark Retail operates 2,000 Hallmark Gold Crown stores in five countries and Hallmark Home and Gifts sells a broad array of home décor and gift product throughout the U.S. Crayola offers a wide range of art materials and toys designed to spark children’s creativity around the globe. Crown Media Family Networks operates three cable channels – Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and Hallmark Drama – in addition to Hallmark Publishing, the e-books division of the Hallmark channels, and Hallmark Movies Now, a subscription-based streaming service. Crown Center is a real estate development company that manages the 85-acre hotel, office, entertainment and residential campus surrounding Hallmark’s headquarters. For more information, visit Hallmark.com . Connect on Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , Pinterest , LinkedIn and YouTube .

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Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/Attachm...c19e95ebfa

Andy DiOrio, APR Hallmark 816-545-0243 Andy.DiOrio@hallmark.com